182 THE PLANT WOELD 



from long pedicels in summer, make it one of the handsomest trees in 

 the world. The fruit is about the size of an apple or pear, but of 

 unique and characteristic shape, which might be described as a flat- 

 tened cone with oblique base, and rounded, slightly incurved point. 

 There are dozens of varieties of mangoes, some entirel}^ delicious, others 

 more or less stringy and resinous, but in all of them the bulk of the 

 stone is a sore disappointment. The future Cuban cultivator who first 

 obtains a notable reduction of stone and corresponding increase of 

 pulp, will do as much for his country as the patriot who first estab- 

 lishes a well ordered government. The mango is perfectly wholesome, 

 in spite of the injurious remarks levelled at it by the ignorant and the 

 prejudiced. In the first days of the invasion of Cuba by American 

 troops, when rations were scant, the writer has seen whole regiments 

 feeding on mangoes, and never heard of a case of sickness resulting 

 therefrom. 



To the same family (Anacardiaceae) belongs the cashew, or ma- 

 raiion of the Cubans {Anacardium occidentale), a small, pretty tree with 

 large, leathery, rounded leaves and the peculiar, often-described kid- 

 ney-shaped fruit resting upon the much larger, pyriform pedicel. The 

 roasted nut is very fine, somewhat like peanut, but of much more deli- 

 cate flavor. As to the fleshy pedicel, it is so puugently astringent that 

 no one with normal taste ever eats it a second time. 



Here also belong the hog plums {Sjwndias lutea and S, purpurea), 

 the jobo and ciruela of the Cubans, both (especially the latter) culti- 

 vated, the plum-like fruit with large ridged stone, thick skin and scant 

 but pleasantly acidulated pulp, much relished by the natives. 



The one tropical or semi-tropical fruit which northern visitors like 

 from the very first and remain fond of, a delicious and most wholesome 

 fruit-vegetable is that of Persea gratissima, the aguacate, from which 

 Indian-Spanish name are derived the alligator pear of the English and 

 the avocatier of the French. It is a rather tall tree of upright habit, 

 with elliptical, shining leaves a half-foot long. The pear-shaped fruit 

 begins to ripen in April and lasts all summer; it consists of a large 

 stone, thick greenish-yellow oleaginous pulp and hard skin. The pulp 

 is mostly eaten as a salad, but is very palatable in any shape. 



The Anonaceae play an important part in the fruit supply of the 

 Cuban market, the four following species, small, uninteresting trees, 

 being commonly cultivated. The first two are native, the last two in- 

 troduced. 



Anona squamosa, sweet sop of the English, anon of the Cubans; 

 common in fields, its fruit resembling a small pineapple and the best 

 of the genus, being much consumed raw and in ices. 



A. muricata, sour sop, the guanabana of the Cubans, has a much 



